Samsung Electronics said it aims to outperform the currently discontinued notebook series Smarp Tone by selling foldable smartphones in order to increase the profitability of the mobile phone division.
Cho Sung Joon | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Samsung Wants to make foldable smartphones mainstream, and said Thursday that it aims to sell such devices beyond the popular notebook series handsets.
A major South Korean electronics manufacturer is trying to promote the sale of foldable handsets to increase the profitability of the mobile sector, which is suffering from soaring material costs and declining consumer demand.
Samsung first launched a notebook smartphone model in 2011. It has been a success for many years due to the larger screen size when rival displays were smaller.
However, as smartphones continued to grow, including Samsung’s flagship S-series devices, Note was eventually discontinued. Instead, the company’s Galaxy S Ultra model filled that void. Released in 2020, the Note 20 was the last phone in the Samsung series.
Samsung’s first foldable phone, the Galaxy Fold, was launched in 2019 after some technical issues. Since then, the company has released many other models.
However, foldable smartphones are still a niche part of the entire smartphone market. Samsung wants to turn them into “mainstream,” according to earnings announcements released Thursday, to boost profitability in the smartphone sector.
“We will continue to maintain the momentum of S-series sales in the second half of the year and use the new foldable series that will be launched to exceed the sales volume reported in the notebook series.” The company’s mobile experience division. Sung Koo Kim, vice president of the company, said at a conference call Thursday.
Given that the latter device is currently discontinued, it’s unclear what time frame the foldable will refer to in order for Samsung to take over the sale of the notebook. Samsung couldn’t clarify when contacted by CNBC.
For reference, Samsung has shipped 190 million Note devices across the life of the phone, according to IDC. So far, Samsung has shipped over 10 million foldable smartphones.
Samsung has shipped about 12 million Note 20 phones and about 14 million Note 10 devices at the end of the series. This is compared to the latest Samsung foldable phones, the Galaxy Z Flip 3 and Galaxy Z Fold 3 devices.
The company is preparing for the release of a new foldable device next month.
IDC analyst Brian Ma told CNBC, “It makes sense for Samsung to bet foldable. It’s a premium, profitable product that boosts average selling prices and sets Samsung apart from its competitors. “.
“Noteline still has enthusiastic fans, but it’s still 10 years old, so putting the company’s ambitions in a foldable way allows the company to stay ahead of the curve.”
Indeed, the profitability of its smartphone sector is Samsung’s main focus. According to Samsung, mobile business revenues in the second quarter declined quarter-on-quarter due to rising costs and a “bad foreign exchange”. However, sales increased year-on-year due to increased sales of premium models such as the S22 smartphone and Tab S8 tablet series.
Samsung’s Kim expects the smartphone market to remain flat or grow slightly in the second half of the year. Folding smartphones will be an important part of Samsung’s efforts to increase profitability.
By targeting fully mainstream foldable sales, the company said, “By offering foldable sales beyond the Galaxy Note series and a differentiated consumer experience enabled by global partnerships, the company is aiming for completely mainstream foldable sales. We will ensure solid profitability. “
